meep … “Seven miles deep!” said Thudd. “Could bury tallest mountain there!”
“Why is it so deep?” asked Andrew.
meep … “Crust of earth always movin’,” said Thudd. “New crust get made. Old crust go away. This is place where old crust get dragged inside earth. Crust melt. Get recycled.”
Uncle Al nodded. “A dozen astronauts have walked on the moon, but only two people have ever gotten to the bottom of the Challenger Deep. The moon is a safer place!”
“Then we’d better get the Water Bug moving again,” said Judy, “before we fall into this stupid pit.”
“Could the Water Bug be out of fuel?” asked Andrew.
Uncle Al shook his head. “The Water Bug runs on water,” he said.
Just then, the living lights of the ocean disappeared. The Water Bug was surrounded by a thick, swirling blackness!
“Woofers!” said Andrew. “We’re in some weird smoke cloud!”
“What did you say?” asked Uncle Al. His eyebrows rose in alarm.
Judy and Andrew looked down through the glass floor of the Water Bug. Tall, craggy towers on the ocean floor were spitting out billows of smoke.
“It looks like a witch’s castle,” Judy said, “with smoking chimneys! How could there be a fire in the ocean?”
“Smokey the Bear on a chocolate chip cookie!” said Uncle Al. “Watch out! You guys are sinking into a—”
Without warning, the Uncle Al hologram popped like a bubble and disappeared.
meep … “Black smoker!” said Thudd.
“Black smoker?” said Judy. “What kind of weird-o thing is that?”
meep … “Ocean floor got deep cracks. Hot, hot, hot down there! Two thousand degrees! Water down there get hot, too. Boil up through cracks. Water drag up lotsa black stuff from crust of earth. Look like smoke. Black stuff pile up in big heaps. Make strange chimneys.”
Judy groaned. “So we’ve got a Water Bug that’s getting squashed, we’ve got no power, and we’re falling into boiling water!”
meep … “Boiling water not as hot as water here,” said Thudd.
“Oh, that’s just great!” said Judy.
The Water Bug kept sinking through the bubbling smoke. As Andrew squinted through the windshield, he noticed that the glass looked a little … wavy.
“Thudd, what’s happening to the windshield?” asked Andrew.
meep … “Don’t want to say,” said Thudd.
“Why not?” asked Andrew.
meep … “Don’t want to scare Drewd and Oody,” said Thudd.
Andrew shook his head. “I get more scared when I don’t know what I’m supposed to be scared about,” he said.
meep … “Okey-dokey,” said Thudd. “Windshield melting.”
“Cheese Louise!” yelled Judy. “If the windows melt, we’re history!”
CLUUUNK!
The Water Bug smashed into one of the chimneys. The rubber-blubber buggy bumper bounced them away from the dark, twisted shape and the super-hot water.
The Water Bug sank to the ocean floor. The chimneys towered above them.
“It’s like we’re in a forest of giant, smoking tree trunks,” said Judy. She leaned toward the windshield. “Oh my gosh! There are flowers growing on the black smokers!”
Judy was looking at a patch of thick stems much taller than the Water Bug. At the top of each stem, a red blossom shape waved in the water.
meep … “Not flowers,” said Thudd. “Worms!”
“Worms?” said Judy.
meep … “Tube worms,” said Thudd. “Worm live inside white tube. Only place on earth this kinda tube worm live is on black smoker chimney.”
Little white crabs crept around the tube worms. Thudd hopped onto the dashboard and pointed to a flat rock. Heaped on top was something that looked like a huge pile of tangled pasta.
meep … “Spaghetti worms,” said Thudd.
“Spaghetti!” said Andrew. “I’m getting hungry.”
Judy rolled her eyes. “Disgusting boy,” she said.
“Well,” said Andrew, “we can’t get the Water Bug going. There are pizzas in the refrigerator. We can have a snack and wait for Uncle Al to find us.”
Judy frowned. “I sure hope that nasty old Soggy Bob doesn’t find us first,” she said.
Awk! “Soggy Bob used to be a good guy before,” said Burpp.
“Before what?” asked Judy.
Awk! “Before he met Doctor Kron-Tox,” said Burpp.
“Who’s Doctor Kron-Tox?” asked Andrew.
Awk! “Soggy Bob used to walk in his sleep,” said Burpp. “One day, he almost fell off a cliff! He went to see a strange scientist named Doctor Kron-Tox to find a cure. Doctor Kron-Tox made Burpp stay outside his laboratory. All Burpp could see was lots of flashing lights.
“When Soggy Bob came out, he was different. Before, he was kind to everyone. He picked up stray cats and let them sleep in his bed.”
Judy shook her head. “Flashing lights, huh?” She thought for a minute. “I’ll bet Doctor Kron-Tox hypnotized Soggy Bob. I’ve read you can do that with flashing lights.”
“Uh-oh,” said Andrew.
“‘Uh-oh’?” said Judy. “Those are my least favorite syllables in the whole world!”
“Um, there’s something weird over there,” said Andrew.
“Where?” asked Judy.
“It’s crawling from behind the black smoker,” said Andrew.
Then Judy saw what Andrew saw.
It was a monster crab! Its body looked like a barrel. Its long, skinny legs spread as wide as the Water Bug.
Behind that crab was another … and another. It was a monster-crab army!
meep … “Giant spider crab!” said Thudd. “Biggest crab! Japanese name is shinin gani—mean ‘dead man’s crab.’ Giant spider crab eat people that drown!”
“Eeew!” said Judy.
Suddenly gloppy brown goo splattered against the Water Bug’s windshield.
The crabs charged toward the Water Bug!
“Andrew! Do something!” yelled Judy.
Andrew cranked the key in the ignition and slammed the gas pedal. But the Water Bug still wouldn’t start.
The crabs crawled onto the hood. They looked through the windshield with round black eyes on stalks. They snapped at the doors with their claws.
Judy shuddered and shrank into her seat.
kk … kkk … kkkkk crackled the speaker on the dashboard.
“Oh no!” Andrew hollered. “It’s Soggy Bob!”
“Well, howdy-do!” came the growly voice of Soggy Bob. Andrew looked around but couldn’t see Soggy Bob’s vehicle.
“It’s mah lucky day!” Soggy Bob continued. “Ah finally found ya little mud puppies! Ah see ya met mah little crab friends. They love that rotten tuna fish juice ah sprayed onto yer silly vehicle! Heh, heh, heh!”
meep … “Crab like rotty food!” said Thudd.
Suddenly the Water Bug began to move. The crabs were pushing it!
Andrew pressed the black Octo-Tool button on the dashboard and yelled into the microphone, “Stop the crabs!”
The hood popped open. The Octo-Tool tentacles slithered out, wrapped themselves around a crab, and flung it away. But the other crabs were nipping the tips of the Octo-Tool tentacles!
“Octo-Tool!” yelled Andrew. “Get back in here!”
But the Octo-Tool kept fighting bravely.
“Get those tentacles back in here now!” yelled Andrew.
The Octo-Tool finally untangled its tentacles from the crab claws, curled up under the hood, and slammed it shut.
The crabs began pushing and shoving the Water Bug. It was like they were playing a game of ocean hockey!
Andrew lurched into Judy. Klink! Klink! Klink! came the sound of Burpp bouncing around in the back.
“Whoa!” said Soggy Bob. “Ah hear some-thin’ over there! Ah know that sound! It’s mah parrot shakin’ his tail feathers! Ya kids kidnapped mah bird!”
Usually, Soggy Bob couldn’t hear any sounds from the Water Bug. But now he could. That’s because Burpp was wearing a pair of headphones and a microphone.
Awk! “No!” said Burpp. “The Dubble kids didn’t kidnap Burpp. They rescued Burpp!”
“Ya better get yer fool feathers over here right now!” said Soggy Bob. “Ya belong to me!”
Awk! “No!” said Burpp. “Burpp is staying here. Burpp won’t help you turn giant squids into giant squidwiches!”
Burpp turned off his speaker headphones and tossed them into Judy’s lap.
Just then, the Water Bug began to tip. It tumbled over! Andrew’s head bumped against the ceiling. The crabs were rolling the Water Bug along the ocean floor!
“Super nutso!” yelled Judy. “What are these stupid crabs going to do with us?”
“I don’t know,” said Andrew, “but at least they’re not trying to eat us.”
“Yet!” said Judy.
By the Water Bug’s headlights, they could see tall shadows looming ahead—underwater hills and mountains.
In front of them was a narrow space between two rocky hills.
Screeeeeek!
The Water Bug scratched against the rocks. The crabs were pushing them through!
Beyond was nothing but the blackest blackness.
It’s as dark as the inside of a dog’s nose, thought Andrew.
“Where are we?” asked Judy.
Thudd pressed one of the buttons in the middle of his chest. The button popped open and a bright blue beam zoomed out. Thudd pointed the beam down into the dark below them.
meep … “Seven miles deep!” said Thudd. “Challenger Deep!”
“Holy moly!” said Andrew.
The Water Bug teetered on the edge. It wobbled. It tumbled over!
“Heh! Heh! Heh!” Soggy Bob’s hoarse laugh filled the Water Bug. “So long, little guppies. Sleep tight. Don’t let the fangtooth bite! Heh! Heh! Heh!”
The Water Bug spun down into the blackness.
“Yikes!” yelled Judy.
“Eek!” squeaked Thudd.
Awk! squawked Burpp.
“Yergh!” yelled Andrew.
KLANK! KLANK! came the sound of the Water Bug banging against the rocky canyon wall.
This is like when you’re falling in a dream, thought Andrew. It feels like you’re never going to stop.
“Cheese Louise!” hollered Judy. “There’s a head out there!”
A silly-looking orange head about the size of a basketball floated in front of the windshield. It had a frilly collar and flapping elephant ears.
meep … “Dumbo octopus!” said Thudd.
“You mean like Dumbo the elephant?” said Andrew. “With big ears that made it fly?”
“Yoop!” said Thudd. “But Dumbo octopus not got ears. Dumbo octopus got fins!”
“He has such beautiful blue eyes!” said Judy.
A creature that looked like a chubby bath toy passed by Andrew’s window.
The Dumbo octopus flapped toward it. The bath toy began to glow bright red! Suddenly its glowing skin peeled away, and the squishy little creature threw it at the octopus!
meep … “Octopus chase sea cucumber animal,” said Thudd. “Sea cucumber make skin light up. Throw skin onto octopus. Bright red skin like big sign! Say ‘Eat Me!’ to predator animals.”
GRAAACK!
Andrew and Judy turned to see that the crack in the back window now zigzagged all the way to the bottom!
“The Water Bug is shrinking again!” yelled Judy. “We’re going to get squashed by a zillion tons of ocean!”
“Uncle Al is on his way” said Andrew. “He’ll probably find us before we get squashed.”
Judy folded her arms across her chest. “We can’t count on that,” she said. “We need to fix the Water Bug now. Let’s think about the problem.
“We know the Water Bug stopped working when Burpp arrived. Maybe something got broken accidentally when we dragged Burpp in.”
Andrew scratched his head and looked at Burpp. “Maybe you caught a claw on a tube or something,” he said.
Awk! “Maybe,” said Burpp, shrugging his wings. “Burpp broke a claw under there.”
“I’ll look under the hood,” said Andrew. “Maybe I can see what’s wrong.”
Andrew pulled up the flap under the steering wheel.
Plurp! Plurp! Plurp!
There was a drip! But where was it coming from?
It was too dark to see.
Andrew reached into one of his front pockets, pulled out his mini-flashlight, and turned it on.
Then he saw it. A blue tube was dripping big drops. It was the water tube to the fuel system, and it was broken!
“Burpp!” yelled Andrew. “Could you find some tape? Look under the sink.”
Awk! “Okay,” said Burpp.
Thunk!
He pulled open the cabinet under the sink with his beak.
Awk! “I see soap and paper plates. There’s a salami and a bag of marshmallows. But I don’t see tape.”
“Check the toolbox,” said Andrew.
Awk! “No tape there,” said Burpp.
I need something to fix this leak, thought Andrew. Or we could be stuck in an awfully deep place for, um, a long time.
Andrew pulled his head out from under the hood and looked around.
The Dumbo octopus was outside Andrew’s window. The glowing sea cucumber skin was stuck to its head.
Andrew pressed the Octo-Tool button.
“Get the sea cucumber skin from the octopus,” he said, “and bring it inside.”
The Octo-Tool crept out from under the hood and snuck up behind the octopus. The tentacles snatched the glowing skin, hurried back under the hood, and poked the skin through the flap under the steering wheel.
Andrew grabbed the sea cucumber skin and ducked back under the hood.
He wrapped the skin tightly around the leak and tied a knot.
“Wowzers schnauzers!” said Andrew. “I think this will work!”
When Andrew pulled himself back into the driver’s seat, they were settling gently on the bottom of the Challenger Deep.
Outside, the water was dark and empty. Even the little octopus had disappeared. The ground was flat and the color of dirty snow.
meep … “Thirty-six thousand feet underwater!” said Thudd. “Deepest place on earth!”
“Super-duper pooper-scooper!” Andrew cheered. “Now four people and two robots have been here! We should celebrate!”
“We should get out of here!” said Judy. “Before we get crushed by tons of water. Besides, this place is super creepy. There’s nothing alive down here.”
Awk! “Yes, there is!” said Burpp. He pecked at the windshield.
It was hard to see, but lying completely flat on the ground was a flounder. Its two eyes were on one side of its body. The color of its skin matched the color of the sand exactly.
And crawling up to it was a sea cucumber.
“See,” said Andrew, “stuff lives even down here.”
“Strange-a-mundo!” said Judy. “But if the water presses against them like tons of elephants, how come these guys don’t get crushed?”
meep … “Cuz fish made of water,” said Thudd. “Water not crush water. Water crush space filled with air. Fish down here not got air spaces inside.”
IRRRRK! The Water Bug trembled. Then the windshield bulged out!
“The Water Bug is shrinking again!” Judy yelled. “We’ve got to get out of here now!”
“Uh-oh!” said Andrew. He turned the key in the ignition and shoved the gas pedal to the floor. “Let’s hope the Water Bug works!”
Brrrrrrrr … came the sound of the Water Bug’s paddle wheels spinning.
Andrew pulled up on the steering wheel. The Water Bug shot up from the canyon floor.
“Yay!” shouted Andrew.
“Yippee!” squeaked Thudd.
Awk! squawked Burpp.
“Finally!” shouted Judy.
&
nbsp; The Water Bug paddled up through the water. Now and then, the headlights fell on a sea star or a herd of sea cucumbers crawling along the canyon walls.
“I see hills up there!” said Judy. “We’re almost at the top of the Challenger Deep!”
“I hope we can catch up with Soggy Bob,” said Andrew. “He’s had a lot of time to get ahead of us.”
Suddenly the words GIANT SQUID at the top of the compass began to blink orange. The compass needle twitched nervously.
Andrew’s eyes grew wide.
“Wowzers schnauzers!” he said. “I wonder if this means we’re getting close to the giant squid.”
“Or if the compass is broken,” said Judy.
The Water Bug was just below the rocky hills at the edge of the canyon. A stone pillar rose above. Something long and thick and red was twitching around it.
“What’s that?” asked Andrew. He steered the Water Bug closer to it.
“Jeepers creepers!” yelled Andrew. “It’s a—”
“Giant tentacle!” yelled Judy.
meep … “Giant squid!” said Thudd.
As the Water Bug paddled up, its headlights fell on two black eyes bigger than basketballs!
The squid seemed to be looking at something beyond the Water Bug. Its smooth, rubbery skin changed from red to rose to white.
Clik clik clik … Clik clik clik … Clik clik clik …
Andrew turned toward the sound.
It looked like a humongous lumpy rock was swimming toward the giant squid.
meep … “Sperm whale!” said Thudd. “Sperm whale make clicking sounds like dolphin. Sound bounce off of stuff. Find prey animal. Find giant squid!”
The whale sped toward the squid like the engine of a train. The torpedo-shaped squid jetted out from the rocks. It flickered colors like a neon sign.
The whale’s head was as wide as the Water Bug. When the whale opened its mouth, its bottom jaw was longer than the Water Bug, but it was thin—only as wide as one of the Water Bug’s seats!
Thudd pointed to the sharp yellow hills that lined the whale’s bottom jaw.
meep … “Sperm whale got biggest teeth of any animal! Eight inches! Big as teeth of Tyrannosaurus dinosaur!” said Thudd.
In the Deep Page 2